The Asics Gel Nimbus 24 is a neutral, plush daily trainer. The first version of the Nimbus that I tried was the Nimbus 20 and I also tried the Nimbus 22, thus needless to say I needed to try the 24 next. I found the 22 to be better than the 20, so will the 24 be even better? In the past, the Nimbus has not been the most innovative shoe out there, but ASICS is trying something new this time.
The Nimbus 20 was a pretty heavy shoe with 264 grams, the 22 was a little bit lighter with 255 grams and the 24 weighs even less with 247 grams in the women’s version. It has a 15 mm stack height in the forefoot and 28 mm in the heel, which still gives it a 13 mm drop. The Nimbus 20 had 12 mm in the forefoot and 25 in the heel, while the Nimbus 22 had 14 mm in the forefoot and 27 in the heel.
Upper
In the previous versions, I didn’t like the upper that much; it wasn’t very soft and wasn’t very stretchy. They definitely changed the upper on the 24, first of all, the upper is made of recycled materials and the jacquard mesh upper is definitely softer and molds more to your foot than before. There is enough room in the toe box and since the upper is pretty stretchy it easily moves with your foot. There is also decent padding in the heel.
The shoe still absorbs a bit of water, but not as much as the 22 version did. Obviously, it’s not a Goretex shoe, and unfortunately, that also does not exist, so you’ll still get wet feet. But the 24 won’t stay wet as long as the 22 did, which would take ages to try, partially because of the padding.
Another thing is the tongue. The tongue used to be very plush in the 22, which I personally liked, but in the 24 it’s just a thin knitted layer. The tongue is gusseted and it’s very, very stretchy. There is nothing wrong with a bit of stretch, but not sure why they made it stretch this much, although it does make it look quite unique. Either way, the tongue is long enough, breathable and it’s not uncomfortable.
Outsole
The outsole is made up of AHAR rubber, but a large part is just the exposed midsole, especially in the midfoot area. Although I don’t think a full rubber outsole is necessary and less rubber helps with the flexibility and the weight of this shoe, I think ASICS has skimped down on the rubber a little bit too much in this version. The grip is not the best, especially on wet surfaces and with lateral motion, it can be a bit slippery.
Midsole
The midsole is where the Nimbus 24 gets different. There is still gel in this midsole (rumor has it that the 25th edition of this shoe will no longer have gel), in the heel, which you can clearly see and there is also some in the forefoot, which isn’t visible.
The Nimbus 24 is a pretty stable shoe, partially thanks to the IGS or Impact Guidance System, which helps you move forward, but the Nimbus is still a neutral shoe.
But the most innovative thing about this shoe is that it features the FF Blast+ foam and I think this is actually the first shoe by ASICS that has this. They’ve used FF Blast before in their line up, but the FF Blast+ is supposed to be bouncier and softer than the regular FF Blast foam. And this shoe definitely is soft and bouncy. I ran a half marathon in these without any issues. And the thing that I like is that it’s bouncy throughout the entire shoe, the forefoot as well as the heel, so no matter your gait, this shoe will feel soft and bouncy.
Conclusion
The Nimbus 24 is a soft, but stable shoe. It’s not only soft in the heel due to the gel, but it’s also pretty soft in the forefoot and the FF Blast+ is not only soft, but it’s also bouncy. So this shoe is not only suitable for heel strikers, also for runners who land more on their midfoot or forefoot. I think the Nimbus 24 is the right shoe for you if you want a bit more plush daily trainer and it’s also a good shoe for runners who’ve just started out and are looking for just that one shoe that they can do all their workouts in. The 24 is not as heavy anymore as it used to be and the upper easily molds to your foot, therefore this shoe can be used by a wide range of runners.
Heart Runner Girl 
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